Wish Facts

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A wish is much more than just a nice thing. And its reach extends far beyond a single event, or moment in time. Wish kids, parents, medical professionals, volunteers, and others say that wish experiences can change the lives of everyone involved, forever.

Wish Impact

According to the results of a 2011 Wish Impact Study that surveyed wish parents, health professionals, and Make-A-Wish® volunteers, a wish come true empowers children with life-threatening medical conditions to fight harder against their illnesses. When wish kids are granted a wish, they get more than just a great experience for a day, two days, or a week. That experience improves the quality of life for them and their entire family.

Health professionals treating them say the wish experience is an important adjunct to medical treatment, and they observe their patients feel better and comply more readily with treatment protocols when they experience their wish come true. And the community volunteers who grant wishes say the wish granting process heightens both their ability to see the best in others, and their commitment to actively help more people in need.

Improved Health Status

Health professionals who treat wish kids, including nurses and doctors, overwhelmingly believe that the wish experience can improve a wish kids’ physical health.

Most health professionals say a wish come true has the potential to be a positive turning point in the child’s battle for health.

Parents and volunteers observe that a wish come true makes kids feel stronger and more energetic.

Wish kids are more willing to comply with difficult, but vital, treatment regimens.

Parents and medical professionals alike describe the wish experience as a frequent turning point in wish kids’ battles for health.

General Wish Facts

Make-A-Wish grants a wish, on average, every 38 minutes and, on average, a child is referred for a wish every 28 minutes.

Every wish experience is driven by the wish kid’s interests, creativity and personality.

Make-A-Wish granted nearly 14,000 wishes in 2011 alone.

To qualify for a wish, a child with a life-threatening medical condition must be older than 2½ years and younger than 18 (at the time of referral) and must not have received a wish from another wish-granting organization.

A child can be referred by a parent or guardian, a medical professional, or by the child.

Following referral, a certified medical professional must verify that the child has a life-threatening medical condition. There are no other qualifications based on sex, race, religion, socioeconomic status or any other demographic category.

Make-A-Wish chapters serve every community in the United States and its territories.

Make-A-Wish has more than 25,000 active volunteers in the United States.

Make-A-Wish needs 2.5 billion frequent flier miles to meet all the travel need for wish kids and their families.

Nearly 70 percent of wish experiences involve travel.

The Walt Disney Company is involved in 40 percent of the wishes Make-A-Wish grants.